People's Officer!3 min

Politicians bring rules and schemes yet it’s dependably the bureaucrats who executes it and ensure that each work they do must create an impact on the citizens. And that’s exactly what she did, 2013 batch Odisha IAS cadre Mrs. Monisha Banerjee.

One of the longest serving ADM of Rourkela who became the most trusted burecrat of the state government Mrs. Monisha Banerjee posted in Rourkela in the month of May 2016.

And not only she managed the ADM seat as well as ended up a standout amongst the most trusted and fit bureacrat in the state and probably the only one who took the responsibility of managing the ADM office, RMC office and also the position of CEO of Smart City Limited for a short time.

However, it’s her achievements and generosity that makes her the most lovable IAS officer of Rourkela!

The celebration by Rourkela people after MRs. Monisha Banerjee’s declaration of smart city.

In the 1st phase of Smart city competition when Rourkela couldn’t figured out how to make it to the rundown, it was her and the RMC team whose work and commitment finally gave us the chance to call our industrial city a Smart City.

Not just that, even in 2017, it was her mission to bring back the CLEAN ROURKELA tag and guess what? With her mass appeal, thousands of Rourkelites united hand with RMC to vote in favour of Rourkela and spread the awareness of cleanliness from slums to quarters. And finally Rourkela became one of the cleanest city of India after a long pause.

During her tenure, Rourkela also got its’ first-ever E-Library, RMC app for online and easy grievances, expansion in shelter homes, city beautification and her effort to bring slum people, transgenders into the mainstream.

It became a talk of the town when the lady IAS officer used to visit Rourkela railway station at 12 am in the midnight to shift the homeless people to the shelter houses who were shivering in the chilling cold.

In 2017 when a 12-year- old boy lost both his legs while he was getting down from a running train on Jammu-Tawi Express in Rourkela station, it was Monisha Banerjee who immediately made arrangements for his treatment and due to her quick decision, life has been saved.

We remember amid an occasion, where Mrs Monisha Banerjee was addressing the civil service aspiring students and answered one of the questions of an 18Yo Rourkelite,’How do you feel in Rourkela? Isn’t it difficult?‘ and her answer mirrored her identity where she stated, ‘The people of Rourkela made it feel like home, I trust I’ll have the capacity to serve them.’

Once again, Rourkela will miss an honest and hardworking officer and with the hope that steel city will become the #1 city of India.